HOOVER, Ala. — UPDATE (7/16) -- A 25-year-old Alabama woman returned home late Saturday after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child who was walking along a highway.
Police said Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell had returned to the home she shares with her parents in Hoover, AL.com reported late Saturday night.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Russell arrived home alone and was brought to a hospital for evaluation, AL.com reported.
Russell's whereabouts were not immediately clear since around 10:45 p.m. Thursday when she called 911 and a family member to say she saw a young child walking on the side of Interstate 459.
Police found Russell's car and her cellphone but were unable to find her or a child in the area.
Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe said the family member on the phone with Russell lost contact with her even though the line remained open. A single witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a man standing outside of Carlee's vehicle, but they had no additional information.
Police asked people to report any information they might have about her disappearance, while family members organized a search in the area.
Talitha Russell told AL.com her daughter was headed home in the community about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Birmingham after leaving work and stopping to get food. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the roadside.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok?' She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
Speaking on social media Sunday, Talitha said, "We want to ask for privacy at this time as we just love on our daughter and each other with our close family and friends [...] I promise we will speak with you and give a general statement in the near future as this is an ongoing investigation."
Hoover Police released an update on the investigation Sunday afternoon [read it in full here], saying that after Russell arrived home Saturday, "Detectives responded to the residence and to UAB to take an initial statement from Carlee. The details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation which is expected to continue over the next few days. During the initial portion of the investigation detectives were able to retrace nearly all of Carlee’s steps until the point she went missing and are confident that will continue to be the case.
"Carlee's 911 call remains the only timely report of a child on the interstate," they added.
UPDATE (7/15) -- The reward for information leading to the safe return of Carlee Russell has risen to $50,000. Keller Williams Realty's Vestavia office announced late Friday night they are adding $25,000 to an existing reward fund. This as neighbors of Russell held a prayer vigil in her honor. There have been no further updates from Hoover Police Department since their 2 p.m. Friday press conference.
Birmingham FOX affiliate WBRC obtained traffic camera video from the area of I-459 where Russell disappeared. The footage shows a vehicle engage its hazards lights and pull over. A person appears to get out of the driver's side of the vehicle and walk to the other side before Hoover police arrive.
Meanwhile, Russell's family have taken to social and national media to make continued pleas for Carlee's welfare. Her brother Marquis said in a TikTok video, "Our sister deserves to be returned home safely. I hurt, she hurts; we should all hurt and we should all help." Their mother, Talitha, posted pictures of Carlee in alternate hairstyles to aid in the search.
Original story below:
Police in Alabama searched Friday for a 25-year-old woman who vanished after telling a family member that she was stopping to check on a child she saw walking on the side of an interstate highway.
Hoover police say Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell called 911 Thursday night and then a family member to say she saw a young child walking on the side of I-459. When officers arrived at the location, they found Russell's car and her cell phone but were unable to find her or a child in the area.
Lt. Daniel Lowe said the family member on the phone with Russell lost contact with her even though the line remained open. He said a single witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a man standing outside of Carlee's vehicle, but they have no additional information.
Police asked people to report any information they might have about her disappearance.
“No piece of information is too small in this investigation,” Lowe told reporters Friday.
Lowe said police are pursing all possibilities in the disappearance. ”We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table,” he said when asked if investigators believe she was abducted.
Family members organized a search in the area.
“We’re just gonna scour the earth,” Russell’s dad, Carlos Russell, told WVTM. “There’s no stopping us.”
Talitha Russell told al.com that her daughter was headed home after leaving work and stopping to get food. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the roadside.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok?' She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
Police said an anonymous donor offered a $20,000 reward for Russell's safe return and another $5,000 reward is available through Crime Stoppers.
Hoover is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Birmingham.
